Clauson (1972)
An etimological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish
p. 156-157
?D amtı:
‘now’. Prima facie, an Adv. in -ti: (Studies, p. 145) fr. *am, but the only trace of this word in this sense is in NE Sag., Şor R I 643, Khak. and Tuv. where it exists side by side with amdı, and looks like an abbreviation of that word. It certainly had back vowels as late as Xak. but in some Uyğ. texts it seems to be spelt with e-. The dental was certainly unvoiced in Türkü and voiced in Xak. and later; the position in Uyğ. is uncertain owing to the ambiguity of the script. S.i.a.m.l.g., with back vowels only in NE. Elsewhere the initial varies between e, é, and i and the nasal between -m- and -n-. In Türkü only the word seems to be not only an Adv. ‘now’ but also an Adj. ‘existing now, present’. Türkü viii amtı: ‘now’ I E 9, II E 8 (1 é:l)—Türkü amtı: bodun begler ‘the Türkü people and begs of to-day’ I S 11, II N 8; similar phr. II S 13; II S 14; ol amtı: anığ yok Türkü xağan ‘the Türkü xağan ruling at present with nothing to harm him’ I S 3, II N 2: viii ff. amtı: amrak oğlanım ança: biliŋler ‘now, my friendly sons, know this’ IrkB Postscript: Man. amtıka tegi ‘up till now’ TT II 8, 40: Uyğ. ix (I saw my sons and daughters married) amtı: öltim ‘now I have died’ Suci 8: viii ff. Man. amtıka tegi TT III 65 (in all Uyğ. texts the Dat., etc. have back vowels, which seems to show that initial e-, when used, is a scriptio defectiva): Bud. amtı is common; amtıkan ökünserbiz ‘if we now repent’ TT IV 10, 24-5 (unusual use of suffix -kan): Civ. amtı is common; amtıkına (Dim. f.) TT I 152: Xak. xi amdı: harf wa ma‘nāhu al-ān ‘a particle meaning now, this very moment’; one says amdı: keldim ‘I have just arrived’ Kaş. I 125; amdı: ok I 37, 16 (2 ok; proves back vowels); 15 o.o.: KB amdı (Arat spells emdi) 39, 147 and many o.o.: xiii(?) At. emdi (?; sic in Uyğ. script, e:mdi: in Ar.) 21, 99: Çağ. xv ff. emdi hāl ‘now’ (quotn.); emdikece/emdike değince tā hāl ‘up till now’ San. 114v. 25: Oğuz xi (after Xak. entry) and the Oğuz put a kasra on the alif and say emdi: Kaş. I 125: Xwar. xiii emdi ‘now’ ‘Ali 6, etc.: xiii(?) amdı ‘now’ (ride away from here with your army) Oğ. 218 (spelling doubtful): xiv emdi Qutb 59, MN 431, etc.: Kom. xiv ‘now, forthwith’ emdi CCI, CCG; Gr. 88 (quotns.): Kıp. xiii al-ān emdi: (alif unvocalized) Hou. 28, 18: xiv emdi: al-ān İd. 23; (under şemdi:) emdi: al-ān (an alternative pronunciation şemdi: is mentioned) do. 55: xv al-ān emdi Tuh. 5a. 5; a.o.o.: Osm. xiv ff. imdi (?emdi) ‘now’ c.i.a.p.; xiv and xv indi (şendi) and imden (?emden; sic, contracted) gerü ‘from now on’ in several texts TTS I 376-7, 384; II 531, 541; III 367, 376; IV 420, 430.